Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-07-09
THE WATER SUPPLY AND WASTE.


! notice In The STAR OF July 1st reported in
tervtew with Capt. SymonS, in which he repeats
the statement made by some OF his predecessors
that the scarcity OF the water is due toits wanton
waste" by the citizens. II that be SO, what con-
s1Stency or reason was there in their urging upon
Congress the expenditure OF 81 600 900 TO Increase
the supply? A much more sensible course would
be to stop the waste and save the two millions
which the District sorey needs for other purposes
II there Is any such waste whose fault is it but
theirs? The whole matter Is under their control
and the law makes 1t their duty to see that 1t is
not wasted. Such q statement, II true is a con-
feSsion that they have not done their duty, that's
all
But the statement that the supply ais $50 gal.
Ions TO each man, woman, and Child per dayn
Is not true, nor anywhere near true as will show
~ the omciai statements OF higher engineer
AS shown by the report of Col Casey, on the 18th
OF June, asso Insre entered the reservoir %, 74O
| OF l43 gallons per capita for a population or
$50. OOO-y they got IL. But his report further
sOater Toured from the reservoir at the rate of nine
hundred ana seventy thousand nine hundred and
Now, where did that water 90 to? The citizens
were not using IL then TO 'iush the pavementS or
letting IL run 10 get cool water to drink" as Capt
Symons states, because at that time they were in
bed aud asleep. Neither were they letting IL run
then Ito prevent their pipes from freeZing" as
he states, because 1t was In the middle OF June,
AS stated Dy the water registrar at the time It
went through the Departments Babcock Lake the
nsh ponds the fish hatchery the public fountains,
Tue drinking fountains morse trOulhS leaky street
hydrants and the like, as every person familiar
with the facts knows full wen.
This TACT Is confirmed by Major Lydecker, who
only recently. IN an interview In The STAR said
1T Is undoubtedly fact that water flows through
the Department buildings in the greatest profIl-
sion, ana that such flow Is a necessary
element 10 the maintenance OF their sanitary con-
d1tiOn."
Again Lieut.. Hoxie, in his report for 1873. says
the amount used by the U. s. Government in the
Departments, fountains &C., was fully 4. 600 0OO
gallons; and the amount has greatly Increased
since then then, because many more fountains have
the Treasury and some other buildings
| the now has been largely Increased within
the past few years, because Of their unsanitary
In answer to resolution OF the Senate. in 1879
the District Commissioners stated that the stand
pipe was designed, and was ample to supply the
northwest section and Capitol Hill,r and that It's
capacity was ' ,00O, 600 gallons per day" IT, now,
| and East Washington was to receive when amply
supplied, Is II not clear that they got much less
tnen, when, as they admitted. neither section was
properly supplied? What then becomes OF the
statement, that every man, woman and child is
| supplied with 15o gallons per day? 1t is simply
| absurd.
| But that is not all Let us look again at
Col Caseys figures In his report Of 1879. AS
above stated; the water ran out Of the reservoir
from midnight 70 at the rate OF 97O 900 gal
Ions per hour: II, now, IL ran through pipes other
than those which supply the citizens at that rate
during the entire twenty hours and that would
make 23 3O1 $40 gallons OF water that the citizens
goes elsewhere
Now deduct that from the total amount which
COL casey says entered the reservoir, viz:
| $40 13s and we have LETT but g 43S 322 gallons!
| That divided among the OO,OOO men, women and
cniioien OF the District Will give but t,oeire and
oee:th gdltons per capita instead OF the one hun
| Is supplied 70 them!
Or, II it be divided among the water-takers. of
| whom there were .522 In June, 1855 and which
| Al the present time must be 20, goo, 1t gives an
average OF 9S IS gallons per house, and which,
Win an average OF but nine 70 a building, inclu-
o1ng noseis stores, oflee buildings factories and
| aI gives put II gallons per capita to the actual
| NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. whopay for It. to say nSChino
OF the great mass who do not take IL!
| IL De said that his statement Is simply In
tenoeo 70 Indicate the amount per capita TO the
whole population, and that It Is more In proper.
lion than In New York, Chicago and other cities
Wmch ne mentions, then say IL Is unfair be-
cause, as he well knows those cities do not nave
any Governments Departments nah ponds,